Where to Eat Like a Local in Hong Kong

Where to Eat Like a Local in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a food lover’s mecca. If you want to know where to get the best food in Hong Kong, it’s always best to follow the locals. Even though I was born and mostly raised in Hong Kong, I haven’t lived there in over 20 years so I can’t call myself a local anymore. Luckily though, both my sisters are locals, and they knew exactly where to bring us when we visited this spring. From hole-in-the-wall noodle shops to high-end modern Japanese cuisine, here were our favorite spots to eat in Hong Kong.

Photo: Keith Tsuji

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BUDGET

Wah Lam Noodle Restaurant

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island
G / F & 1 / F, 5-11 Thomson Road, Wan Chai
This noodle shop is well known for its amazing beef brisket noodle soup. You’ll never taste a broth that is so flavorful, or beef that is so tender in your life. The fish ball noodles are great too. The authentic tastes will have you coming back again and again.

Tung Po

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

North Point, Hong Kong Island
2/F, Java Road Municipal Services Building, 99 Java Road, North Point
This restaurant is on the top floor of the wet market in North Point and will allow you to experience the dai pai dong feel while staying indoors. They serve beer in bowls, which makes it that much more fun to drink. Some of the specialties include crispy chicken, lotus rice, frog sauteed with green onion, and baby boy choy. Everything is super fresh and cleanly cooked. Clearly, the best food in Hong Kong doesn’t always have to be expensive!

Tai Hing

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
Shop A, G / F, Yee Hing Mansion, 13-19 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
This restaurant chain is known for its incredibly flavorful cold milk tea, served on a bed of ice to keep it from watering down. You can’t miss the ramen soup noodles with luncheon meat or sausage, and the bun with condensed milk and butter is simply tea-licious!

Shui Kee Coffee

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island
Shop 17, 2/F, Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building, 345 Queen’s Road, Sheung Wan
It’s located on the top floor of the wet market in Sheung Wan and is more of a stand than a restaurant. Be sure to order their famous milk tea, which is as flavorful as it is strong, served in re-used Schweppes bottles. You should also order some lemon tea and have a small snack like white toast topped with butter and condensed milk, which is a classic snack in Hong Kong. You can also try the egg and beef bun, spam and egg noodles. Oh, and you haven’t truly tried French Toast until you’ve ordered it here. It’s legendary!

MODERATE

Dim Sum Square

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island
G/F., Fu Fai Commercial Centre, 27 Hillier Street, Sheung Wan
The dim sum here is made fresh every day, which is rare in Hong Kong. When you go, make sure and order the char siu bao. Instead of the traditional soft white roll, it’s made with a type of pastry that is flaky and sweet. The roast pork cheung fun is also mouthwatering, so don’t miss it. There’s a perpetual line for a table here, so get there early or be prepared for a wait.

Din Tai Fung

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Shop 306, 3/F, Silvercord, 30 Canton Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
This Taiwanese restaurant has branches all across the world from Japan to the United States, as well as four locations in Hong Kong. If you want fresh, clean flavors that are cooked beautifully, as well as a brightly lit décor with traditional touches to put you in a lovely mood, then Din Tai Fung is the place to go. We loved the yeung chow fried rice, jellyfish, beef with scallions, baby bok choy, truffled soup dumplings and siu mai.

Tung Kee Seafood & Restaurant

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Sai Kung, New Territories
Shop 11-15, G/F, Siu Yat Building, Blook B, 1 Sai Kung Hoi Pong Square
If you’re staying in Hong Kong for more than a few days, consider taking a day trip to Sai Kung. Take a stroll along the pier and you’ll see fishermen selling their catch of the day from their boats. Tung Kee is right on the pier, you’ll enjoy an amazing outdoor meal. Your kids will marvel at the tanks filled with everything from king prawns to geoducks to crabs to fish. We enjoyed the fried cuttlefish, lobster cheese noodles, as well as the scallops served on shells topped with garlic and vermicelli noodles. Everything was so simple but incredibly delicious.

Ho Hung Kee

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
Shop 1204-1205, 12 / F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
You’ll get wonderful food and great service here. Ho Hung Kee was originally a hole in the wall noodle shop, but the owners have upgraded to a new location in a fancy mall with modern décor. The specialty dish here is cloud-like wontons. This restaurant even has one Michelin star!

Crystal Jade

This Shanghainese chain is best known for its handmade noodles. The soup dumplings here are fantastic. We stuck with the basic flavors, but they also make more exotic versions, like truffle soup dumplings. Other highlights for us were the wonton noodle soup, rice cakes with tomato soup, gai lan Chinese broccoli, and chicken buns. You won’t leave disappointed.

Lu Feng

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

The Peak, Hong Kong Island
Shop 3A-B, Level 2 & 3, 128 Peak Rd, The Peak
Located on The Peak, this restaurant offers a fun decor with lots of vintage Hong Kong signage and more. Even the staff wear uniforms that are traditional and beautiful. But you’ll be too busy staring at the amazing view of the harbor and surrounding hills. We loved the roast pork, beef ho fun, yeung chow fried rice, char siu bao, and gai lan Chinese broccoli.

UPSCALE

Yardbird

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island
33-35 Bridges Street, Sheung Wan
Yardbird offers modern Japanese cuisine with relaxed, American-style service. The restaurant is well known for optimizing the way they cook each part of the chicken to increase its flavor. You can order skewers of chicken wings, chicken knee, or even chicken heart! If chicken hearts aren’t your thing, try the sweet corn tempura, which look a bit like fried mac and cheese balls. The yellowtail salad is crisp and refreshing, but you can also enjoy the great flavor of caramelized Brussel sprouts, Korean fried cauliflowers (or KFC for short), which are balls of cauliflower that are fried and spicy. Is your mouth watering yet?

Ronin

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Central, Hong Kong Island
8 On Wo Lane, Central
Ronin is an elegant jewel box of a restaurant that offers some of the best modern Japanese cuisine in Hong Kong. The menu changes daily based on what’s most fresh at the market. It’s pricey, but worth the splurge. Leave the kids with a sitter for this one, and make it a date night. Be sure to check out the bathroom, the decor of which my husband described as looking “like a Justin Timberlake video.”

DESSERT

Sift Patisserie

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island
G/F, 51 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai
What you’ll find here are some seriously delicious cupcakes that may even put New York’s top bakeries to shame. There are an assortment of flavors to choose from. Some of our favorites were triple chocolate, chocolate banana, strawberry, and snowball. Best of all, they offer gluten-free options in case you have allergies.

Happy Together

Photo: Carmen Sognonvi

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Shop 2, G / F, 5-6 Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui
Here you’ll find one of the most incredible chocolate lava cakes you’ve ever had. Kids will love the banana split. It comes sprinkled with Pop Rocks that make the flavors literally crackle and pop. This spot is popular, but don’t be put off if you see long lines. The tables turn quickly.

Ready to try the best food in Hong Kong?

The food in Hong Kong is as impressive as the famous skyline and beautiful temples. You won’t just immerse yourself in the incredible culture, but also in the culinary delights that will make any food you try when you go back to your regular life seem bland in comparison. So go ahead, treat yourself to the best food in Hong Kong.

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About Carmen Sognonvi

Carmen Sognonvi is a luxury family travel and lifestyle digital influencer at Top Flight Family. Her insights on travel have been featured in Wanderlust Travel Magazine, TravelPulse, HOTELS Magazine, Seatrade Cruise News and more. Carmen firmly believes that you can (and should) travel with your kids from a young age. She offers families practical solutions for travel, as well as tips on how to travel in luxury for less. She lives in New York City with her multiracial and multicultural family of four. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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